Sometimes
you get so frustrated at an annual it
makes you want go why did I waste my
four dollars on this. No not Action
Comics Annual #3, but rather
Superman/Batman Annual #1. That was
going to be this review but after
halfway point I gave up with the
lackluster art in the faces of Bruce &
Clark and how the story missed the mark
and lost my interest by the end. So I
dug in my boxes of comics to find a good
annual to take its place. So I found an
Annual with special meaning, the one
where Superman becomes POTUSóPresident
of the United States for a great
alternate possibility story. The writer
is Roger Stern, penciller is Tom
Grummett, various inkers work on this
annual, colorist is Glenn Whitmore,
letterer is Bill Oakley, editor is Mike
Carlin & the cover artist is Dave
Gibbons. So letís take a look at Action
Comics annual #3 under the Armageddon
2001 banner published in 1991.

Superman
is in New Mexico fighting parademons &
Apokolips soldiers. The minions try to
prevent Superman from getting to the
Resurrection Rod. Superman is a little
late getting to the Rod in time and
Kalibak (one of Darkseidís sons) is
revived from the power of the
Resurrection Rod. The two battle for
control in a drag out fight that is a
true battle among titans. The minions
escape through the Boom Tube. Kalibak
strikes Superman with the Beta Club but
Superman repels the attack and destroys
the club. Superman seeks answers from
Kalibak about the Resurrection Rod but
Kalibak escapes from Superman thanks to
another Boom Tube. Then Superman sees
Metron (another New Gods character) who
tells Superman that Darkseid was not
behind this attack. Metron tells
Superman of what happen to Kalibak and
how he was able to return in part from
the Resurrection Rod and the minions
hope that Kalibak would depose of
Darkseid by bringing back Kalibak.
Superman questions Metron future than
leaves.

Waverider
enters the story on the next page. We
get background information on him that
he was Matthew Ryder previously. Also
that Waverider is on a mission to seek
out the true identity of the one called
the Monarch. Waverider is using time
travel to find out who Monarch is in the
past and stop him from becoming Monarch
in the first place. Waverider is drawn
to Superman as he sees into Supermanís
future timeline (and other annuals). He
decides to investigate further into
Superman.

Superman
tells Lois (who are both engaged at this
point in DC history) the events of the
attack with Kalibak & his talk with
Metron. He feels so used like a pawn in
the way Metron used him to being him
into the conflict. Lois agrees with but
tells him to change into Clark Kent & a
tux because the couple have reservations
for dinner tonight. Clark changes into
the tux kisses Lois as they leave to go
for dinner. Waverider decides to merger
with Superman as one. The couple has
a great time dining, dancing & a
carriage ride home as Wave rider
recounts his past life s Matthew and his
love Janet. Upon returns home to a
urgent message from Ma Kent concerning
Pa Kent, the couple arrive soon after at
the hospital. There we learn that
Jonathan injured was in a tractor
accident at the farm and soon afterwards
the doctor tells them that Jonathan had
too many injuries and that he passed
away. All are shocked and overcome with
grief. Soon we see the funeral, the
sale of the Kent farm as Martha decides
to move in with Clark & Lois, the
wedding of Lois & Clark. Soon after the
honeymoon, the couple is back at work
trying to bring down Intergang.
Superman foils an attempt to blackmail
the city of Metropolis with a nuclear
device from Intergang. Somehow Superman
remembered the events with Waverider in
other possible futures and prevented the
attack from happening in the first
place.

Clark &
Lois travel to Washington D.C. Pete
Ross is a US congressman from Kansas &
is married to Lana Lang. Pete tells
Clark & Lois that he limited of what he
can do as a congressman and wants to
seek higher office. The two suggest
running for the U.S. Senate but the
incumbent senator is not retiring so
Pete plans to run for President of the
United States and wants Clark & Lois on
his campaign staff. After a brief
amount time has passed, Clark accepts
the role as Peteís campaign manager and
resigns his position at the Daily
Planet. As the campaign continues, Pete
makes many tv appearances & then
campaigns in Louisiana delivering a
speech but then the unthinkable
happens. Clark is nearby, but not fast
enough to prevent many shots fired at
Pete, but as the assassin continues to
fire at Clark his civilian clothes are
in shreds revealing his secret identity
to the public as he arrests the
assassin. The following page is a Daily
Planet article of the assassination
attempt on Pete & the revealing

of
Supermanís identity to the public at
large.

At
Bethesda Naval Medical Center where Pete
recovers from the attack. He tells
Superman he wants him to continue in the
race as he is pulling out. He
encourages him to run for the office.
After discussing it with his wife, Lois
& his mom, Martha, Superman decides to
run for office of President. Pundits
debate whether or not he can run for
office at all with the requirement that
the candidate for office be a natural
born citizen of America under the US
Constitution. In John Byrneís revamp of
Superman, he was inside the birthing
matrix until he arrived in Kansas and
was born in America when the Kents
discovered him. Superman turns over the
birthing matrix over to STAR Labs for
verification of his story. Upon the
conclusion of STAR Labs the US Supreme
Court rules in favor of Supermanís
candidacy by a 9-0 ruling. Lex Luthor II
(a clone of Lex disguised as his own
son) still wants to destroy Superman at
all costs even after learning Superman
can run for President. Superman
accepts the nomination for president and
gives a heart felt speech & announces
his running mate, US Congresswoman Sarah
Hemming. Superman does numerous
appearances; he is in various magazines
& in televised debates with his
challenger, former US Senator Hebert
Forrest.

On
election day, Forrest concedes to Kent
and Clark Kent (Superman) becomes the
president-elect and will take office the
following January 20th.

Clark
Kent as Superman takes the oath of
office for President & delivers his
inauguration
address to the public while Lex Luthor
II meets with Supermanís challenger in
the last election Sen. Forrest. Luthor
says he wants to destroy & kill
Superman. Unknown to Luthor, Forrest is
wired to record the words that will
convict him for threatening Supermanís
life. It is a crime to threaten the
President and is arrested promptly by
the US Secret Service. Aquaman is
searching for & finds the freighter.
Inside with Supermanís help they deliver
the contents of the freighter with news
crews everywhere for the discovery of
lots of gold. And Superman pledges to
find more gold to help with the US trade
deficit but to do it slowly as to not
disrupt world markets. Superman then
address matters like terrorism single
handily, creating a ecology corps, major
energy conservation program using
orbital solar power station to address
that problem. But Superman (as in
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace) plans
to rid the world of all weapons to
achieve world peace & talk to world
leaders to do the same for their country
in achieving this goal. He calls on the
JLI (Justice League International) to
assist him in this effort. But Guy
Gardner decides that he will challenge
Superman and calls Superman a traitor.
Flash tries to overpower him but fails,
Wonder Woman & Batman are about to take
down Garner, but Superman wants to fight
Guy. Superman overpowers Guy as he is
blasting him with his power ring, but in
the end Supermanís willpower is no match
for Guy Gardner. Superman takes the
ring from him and Guy keeps attacking
Superman but Guyís hands are broken
without the power ring to help in the
attack. Soon Hal Jordan & Jon Stewart
(the other Green Lanterns of earth)
imprison Guy for going too far. The JLI
will be forming a new world peace league
(is that the United Nations role). Hal
Jordan returns to the White House in the
oval office and offers him a solar
battery to match the ring. But Superman
declines the offer and says it is too
much power for himself and to give it to
someone else & Hal accepts Supermanís
decision and takes the ring.

Superman
then tells the American public that the
orbital power stations are up & running
and is delivering energy across the
globe. It is then in the White House
with Lois & Ma Kent at his side that he
focuses on what is next for him to do
with the upcoming talks about disarming
the world of its weapons and talks with
Northern Ireland. It is then Superman
thinks of his adaptive father, Jonathan
Kent. Then we are flashbacked to Clark
& Lois back at the elevator at the
dinner after the merger with Waverider.
Waverider concludes that Superman can
not be the Monarch. Clark runs to
Smallville to check on his father.
Superman arrives just in the nick of
time to save Jonathan for his dangerous
fate. Superman wants Jonathan to take
care of himself and listen to Ma Kent
more often in the future. Superman says
he loves him & the father does likewise
to his son & fixes the tractor.
Waverider sees the events that transpire
& continues his search for the Monarch
as the issue ends. The Monarch is later
revealed to be Hank Hall, Hawk from Hawk
and Down after it was leaked it was to
be Captain Atom in the beginning.

Here Is How The Bullet Fired (For Me)

Art: 9.0
out of 10 Raging Bullets

Story:
9.8 out of 10 Raging Bullets

Cover
Art: 10.0 out of 10 Raging Bullets

Overall
Rating for this Annual is 9.6 out of 10
Raging Bullets

If You
Like This Try: Other Superman Annuals
from 1987 thru 1991. You may also like
to try the upcoming Action Comics Annual
number 10 (coming out in January 2007)
written by Richard Donner & Geoff
Johns.

The
Bottom Line: This is a great annual to
read. It is a story showing the promise
that Superman could bring to the world
if he were real and be the President of
the United States and spotlighting the
possible dangers of power also. The
best advice for annuals is if you donít
like the one you recently bought; try
another one from a earlier time to
compare them to.